Chapter 33

Martha watched the Nest while leaning against one of the residential buildings. She felt guilty for what she was doing, just like many of the Ravens who followed Lorenço and his leaders. She had thought several times about revealing everything to Gygy, but the shame she felt for choosing coins over her duty as a Raven prevented her.

She wasn't the only one who thought this way; many of the members of the Nests that allied to commit the atrocities remained silent, with lost looks in their eyes. Of course, this wasn't the case for everyone.

Some of the residents tried to resist the occupation, but they were beaten and left lying in corners as a warning to prevent such actions from repeating. The same happened at the entrance to the Pit Two, where a small group of Ravens stayed behind to ensure no one could leave. Martha didn't participate in the beatings, but remained neutral, watching them take place, making her just as guilty.

The small attack on them earlier delayed the Ravens' plans to finish off their rivals. The news that fourteen of theirs had been killed, and eleven of them by a single person wearing a scale suit, terrified everyone. They wondered who that person could be. Martha knew exactly who it was—she had seen Naomi wearing that suit and watched the young woman fight. She was dangerous, and her body wasn't found, making it clear Naomi was still alive.

The modified people walked among them, seemingly in a trance. Lorenço, now wearing the Raven's attire, constantly moved from one place to another, analyzing his work. He was angry about the losses he had suffered and roughly stroked the hair of a child whose arms had been replaced with long claws, lost in thought.

Martha kept watching the one responsible for such anger when she began to feel the ground tremble. The shaking intensified quickly, and suddenly, the street vendors were ejected from the asphalt by tongues of fire. And chaos began.

Entire streets shook so violently it was impossible for anyone to stand. For a brief moment, the asphalt seemed to swell like a soap bubble. In the next instant, it collapsed, swallowing everything in it. Buildings collapsed nonstop, burying residents and Ravens alike, while others simply caught fire, turning into gigantic concrete bonfires.

The screams of terror and death were completely drowned out by the sound of concrete breaking and buildings collapsing. The cobblestone streets, unlike the asphalt ones, when they swelled, imploded, causing chunks of stone to fly in all directions, like cannonballs, causing even more destruction around them. Fire spewed from several collapsed streets, resembling walls of flames.

Martha was on the ground, feeling terror, having no idea what was happening. She could only watch helplessly. A building exploded, sending chunks of concrete and mutilated bodies flying in all directions. Amid the rubble of a house, streams of blood mixed with feces flowed.

In the midst of the chaos and smoke, the Raven saw Lorenço being dragged away from it all by two modified people. The man watched his plans being destroyed so suddenly, his eyes filled with hatred and fear.

The building Martha had been leaning against began to tremble, cracking in several spots. She could only watch as it fell, her last moments of life spent being pummeled by dozens of stones, breaking her bones, flesh, and muscles. Finally, a three-meter block crushed her, ending her suffering.

Just as it began, it ended. In less than two minutes, the revolt was crushed, killing nearly all the Ravens, along with eight thousand civilians. Lorenço's whereabouts were unknown.